R.J. Decker left viewers with a body in the water and a mystery that is still unsolved. In the April 28 season 1 finale, Victor Ochoa was shot and left floating in a pool, and the series is heading into season 2 with one of its central characters hoping for a miracle.

Jaina Lee Ortiz, who plays Emi Ochoa, said Thursday, May 21, that she really hoped Victor was not dead. Ortiz said she wanted him to jump out of the water and gasp for air because it was not fair, adding that she loves David Zayas, who played Victor. She also said season 2 would be very juicy, and that Emi’s close bond with her father will make any attempt to solve his murder more complicated.

That matters because Victor’s death did not come out of nowhere. By the time the finale ended, R.J. Decker and Emi had teamed up to take him down with help from Wish Aiken, Catherine Delacroix and Mel Abreu. R.J. had already gone to jail after fighting with Victor’s son, Lucas Ochoa, and Victor had arranged for Lucas to steal R.J.’s camera equipment. R.J. and Emi also put Victor behind bars on another charge during the finale, but he was released and then killed by an unknown assailant.

Ortiz said the fallout will also shape what comes next between Emi and R.J. She said they will always have a cat-and-mouse game, but that something needs to come in between them and ruffle it up a little bit. They are too happy right now, she said, even if they do not really know what they are or what is going on. Ortiz said they may need to be tested a little more, and she also tied that tension back to the murder investigation, saying Emi’s connection to her father will make things harder if she tries to help solve it.

Season 2 of R.J. Decker is set to return on ABC in fall 2026, and the cast is already treating Victor’s death as the engine for the next run. Scott Speedman said last month that the suspect list was wide open, calling it scary and saying almost anyone could be at the top of it, including political opponents, Victor’s daughter, Victor himself, Wish or Mel. He said the murder opens up a lot of stories and sends the show in a really exciting direction.

For Emi, that means grief, suspicion and romance may all be headed for the same room. Ortiz is not playing the end of Victor’s story as settled, but the series is. The death at the center of the season 1 finale is the mystery that season 2 will have to carry, and the people closest to Victor are the ones most likely to be pulled into it.